


Look At Me

by buckyoujames



Series: Softverse [3]
Category: Death Note
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Mild Angst, Pre-Slash, They're both stupid tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 11:28:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9383048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyoujames/pseuds/buckyoujames
Summary: Pretending to be married shouldn't be too bad. Key word: shouldn't. It is pretty bad when her partner happens to be who she actually is in love with, but all she's ever going to get is this fake thing. None of it is real. Light's not interested.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I can't believe I made it here? I mean, this is only part three, but this wasn't even coming from my list. Just something I wrote instead. Ah, I also wrote this while half asleep and honestly, it isn't my best work. In the slightest. Sorry about that. Anyways, I'm still on tumblr ([side-ho-ryuuzaki](http://side-ho-ryuuzaki.tumblr.com/)), so you can still come and say hi!

She’s gorgeous.

She’s gorgeous in the way she commands the room the moment she walks in. She’s gorgeous in the way she smiles and everyone seems to shut up and stare, and she’s gorgeous in how much no one, absolutely no one besides L herself, has caught on to how damn clever she is. She’s utterly captivating. She’s undeniably stunning.

She’s entirely out of L’s league.

L stares for a lot longer than she should at Light before turning away with a very small pout. Asking her to be her partner (in the way that matters yet isn’t what L wants) was the stupidest idea L ever had. It’s a tightrope every day to remember to just smile and not kiss her bed head or to not hold her excited fluttering hands. L’s gotten damn close in the past, and the very, very awkward conversation she had to have with Watari once about “making an attempt” was something she never wanted to have again.

What made all of that worse, though? Pretending to be Light’s wife.

“Dislike her talking to other people?” Mrs. Peterson asked with a knowing smile. It’s an opportunity to strengthen their cover, and L takes it.

“It’s a selfish little wish, but I’d rather she looked at me and no one else,” L says with a besotted smile she wishes were fake. It hurts a little at the edges with the knowledge that she’ll never have Light give her that same smile, but it’s lessened with time. “Her eyes are my favorite.”

“Lilly’s so lucky to have you!” Mrs. Peterson laughs out. “I wish my husband were half as romantic as you are. You two are so cute.” That stings. L smiles through it.

“It must be our prolonged honeymoon period,” L says instead, and Mrs. Peterson nods.

“Must be? Or it’s just simple love, dear.” L takes a long sip of her wine. “The way you two looked at each other told me everything the first time I met you. Lilly speaks so highly of you, too.”

“I’d sure hope so,” L says gently. Mrs. Peterson starts laughing again, and L takes a moment to compose herself. She mustn’t ask. It’ll just lead to hurt. “What exactly does she say, if I may ask?” Damn.

“You should see the way her eyes light up when she talks about your intelligence!” Mrs. Peterson announces excitedly. “Says she loves hearing you talk. Your opinion means so much to her.”

Is her face red? She’s sure it is. Of course, Light probably meant that she respected L as a detective, but L was desperate to pretend for a moment. “Really? Lilly is so cute when she wants to be.” Mrs. Peterson sighs dreamily.

“Oh, but, you didn’t hear she said that from me!” she warns. “She also says she doesn’t want to inflate your ego!”

How _Light._ L starts laughing before she even realizes it, and Mrs. Peterson giggles along with her. “I’m entirely unsurprised by that.”

“Oh?” Mrs. Peterson leans forward. She clearly wants L to elaborate.

“Lilly chooses to remind me of my faults frequently to my face,” L says softly. She feels so endeared to Light. Light’s so cute, telling people how proud of L she is.

Or. Telling people how proud of her fake wife she is. Playing her role like she’s supposed to.

That took a lot of L’s pleasure out of it.

“How cute!” Mrs. Peterson coos even as L’s heart hurts. “She definitely- Oh.”

L turns and there she is, the woman of the hour, the one L is hurting and pining for. “Talking about me?” Light asks. She’s in her element here, surrounded by people. Eyes trail after her at this stupid party, and L’s eyes are among them.

“No,” L says too quickly. She takes a large swig of her drink. Light watches her before smiling slowly, and L’s heart leaps into her throat.

“Good things, I would hope.” Light slips an arm around L casually, and L immediately feels warm. “Although, L rarely sees my good qualities.”

“Rin was telling me that you’re amazing,” Mrs. Peterson cuts in, and L’s face is about to combust. Light pauses for a moment, the slightest blush on her face (didn’t L used to have control over her own emotions?) as she clearly processes that.

“Well, happy wife, happy life, right?” Light responds, and she and Mrs. Peterson begin laughing. Honestly, L’s grateful Light arrived to play the role of the socialite, but she also feels herself lean into Light as Light keeps her arm around her.

“Someone tell my husband that,” Mrs. Peterson sniffs. “I can’t even get him to watch something other than soccer once in a while.” Light laughs, obviously knowledgeable in what to do and when, and while L certainly can do the same (and has, for certain personas), it wears her out unlike Light. Light thrives when all attention is on her. For L, interaction is tiresome, yet somehow Light doesn’t drain L.

Light’s gently rubbing her hand up and down L’s arm, and L’s distracted. She finds her head falling to rest on Light’s shoulder.

“Tired?” Light suddenly asks. L jolts a little, her eyes flying to a clock in the room. It is rather late, and she’d had all the information she needed about an hour ago.

“Yes,” L says back. She looks to Mrs. Peterson with an apologetic smile.

“Go home, you two!” she says happily. Light says something else that clearly pleases her, but L finds the Light’s hand is squeezing her waist softly instead now, and L’s brain is entirely nonfunctioning.

Before she is able to reboot, Light’s dragging her out by the hand. It’s warm against L’s cold ones (that for some reason were never warm). They’re walking out in the neighborhood before Light speaks. “You’re welcome,” Light says sarcastically. L looks up quickly after staring at their still held hands.

“Ah?” she says inelegantly. She internally slaps herself.

“You were clearly flagging. Luckily, I know how to make leaving early look polite.” L snorts at Light’s arrogance. “After all, I am amazing.” Oh, god. Were they really going to talk about that? Well, L has something of her own to use this time.

“Hm. But I’m intelligent and you love hearing me talk.” L says it playfully, or at least as playfully as her monotone gets, but…

Light freezes.

L was poking fun at their cover, like Light had been. So why…? Oh.

_Oh._

“What?” Light says in a calm L knows isn’t real. “You’re annoying. And arrogant.” L’s heart pounds, and pain strikes hard and fast. Light doesn’t mean it like that, even if she won’t look her in the eye. It was just her complimenting her, nothing more. Don’t read too much into it. There’s another long moment of awkward silence and of L berating herself for getting her hopes up before Light speaks. “C’mon, it’s cold. Let’s get back quickly.”

Just a little longer, L decides. 

She’ll pretend for just a little longer that Light really does like her.


End file.
